A team has discovered a super-Earth named LHS 1140 b that could be covered in water or ice.
The world's most powerful telescope suggests LHS 1140 b is more likely a rocky or icy world, bigger than our own Earth.
Artist's representation of LHS 1140 b and Earth.
What's most exciting is that researchers think 10 to 20% of LHS 1140 b could be water.
But so far, LHS 1140 b is a promising contender in the search for hidden oceans and maybe even life beyond our solar system.
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Scientists might have found a promising candidate in the hunt for alien life. A team has discovered a super-Earth named LHS 1140 b that could be covered in water or ice. This alien world is 48 light-years away, but that's exciting news considering what scientists have learned about it.
At first, scientists thought LHS 1140 b might be a mini-Neptune, a gas giant with a thick atmosphere. But James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has revealed a different picture. The world's most powerful telescope suggests LHS 1140 b is more likely a rocky or icy world, bigger than our own Earth.
Artist's representation of LHS 1140 b and Earth. Image: B. Gougeon/Université de Montréal
This discovery is a big deal because this exoplanet orbits a red dwarf star in the "habitable zone." This zone is like a Goldilocks zone, not too hot and not too cold, where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. Earth is in the Goldilocks zone which allows life to exist.
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The data from JWST, along with help from other telescopes, hints that LHS 1140 b might even have an atmosphere, possibly similar to Earth's with lots of nitrogen. This would be the first time scientists have ever seen signs of an atmosphere on a rocky or icy planet that could potentially hold liquid water.
What's most exciting is that researchers think 10 to 20% of LHS 1140 b could be water. Imagine a giant snowball planet with a massive ocean underneath, maybe even with a warm center around 20 degrees Celsius.
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"Of all currently known temperate exoplanets, LHS 1140 b could well be our best bet to one day indirectly confirm liquid water on the surface of an alien world beyond our solar system,” said lead study author, Charles Cadieux, a doctoral student at Université de Montréal in a statement.
It's important to remember that the discovery is still in its early days. Astronomers need more observations from JWST to confirm the atmosphere and look for other gases. But so far, LHS 1140 b is a promising contender in the search for hidden oceans and maybe even life beyond our solar system.
(Image: NASA)
